Fence rail end support system

ABSTRACT

A fence rail end support system includes a mounting plate having a plurality of mounting apertures wherein the mounting plate is configured for being attached to a fence post by fasteners extending through the mounting apertures. Each of a pair of support panels extends perpendicularly from the mounting plate wherein an end of a fence rail is positionable between the pair of support panels. Each of a plurality of connection slots extends through the pair of support panels to receive a connector to secure an associated one of the pair of support panels to the fence rail.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR ASA TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to rail support devices and more particularlypertains to a new rail support device for facilitating connection of afence rail to a fence post with a minimal gap between the fence post andan end of the fence rail.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to rail support devices.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above bygenerally comprising a mounting plate having a plurality of mountingapertures wherein the mounting plate is configured for being attached toa fence post by fasteners extending through the mounting apertures. Eachof a pair of support panels extends perpendicularly from the mountingplate wherein an end of a fence rail is positionable between the pair ofsupport panels. Each of a plurality of connection slots extends throughthe pair of support panels to receive a connector to secure anassociated one of the pair of support panels to the fence rail.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the disclosure in order that the detailed descriptionthereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that thepresent contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There areadditional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafterand which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features ofnovelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than thoseset forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to thefollowing detailed description thereof. Such description makes referenceto the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded top front side perspective view of a fence railend support system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an end support of an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an end support of an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an end support of an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a back view of an end support of an embodiment of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through6 thereof, a new rail support device embodying the principles andconcepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated bythe reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the fence rail end supportsystem 10 generally comprises an end support 11 having a mounting plate12 and a pair of support panels 30. The mounting plate 12 has a backface 14 and a front face 16. The back face 14 is planar. Each of aplurality of mounting apertures 18 extends through the mounting plate 12wherein the mounting plate 12 is configured for being attached to afence post 20 by fasteners 22 extending through the mounting apertures18. The fasteners 22 are conventional and may be screws or the like.

A fence rail 24 has an end 26. The fence rail 24 has elongated grooves28 extending perpendicularly and inwardly from the end 26 of the fencerail 24. For functional purposes relating to connection each elongatedgroove 28 need only extend partially along the fence rail 24. However,for structural stiffness, facilitation of production, or aesthetics,each elongated groove 28 may extend a full length of the fence rail 24as shown in FIG. 1.

Each of the pair of support panels 30 extends perpendicularly from thefront face 14 of the mounting plate 12 wherein the end 26 of the fencerail 24 is positionable between the pair of support panels 30. Each of aplurality of connection slots 32 extends through the pair of supportpanels 30 wherein each of the connection slots 32 is configured forreceiving a connector 34 to secure an associated one of the pair ofsupport panels 30 to the fence rail 24 when the end 26 of the fence rail24 is positioned between the pair of support panels 30 abutting ornearly abutting the mounting plate 12. The connection slots 32 arearranged into horizontally aligned pairs 36. Each connection slot 32 ofeach of the aligned pairs 36 is positioned extending through anassociated one of the support panels 30. Each of the grooves 28 alignswith a respective one of the connection slots 32 when the end 26 of thefence rail 24 is inserted between the support panels 30.

A fence panel 40 has an elongated ridge 42 extending along a lateralside 44 of the fence panel 40. The fence panel 40 also has a top edge 46extending perpendicularly from a top end 48 of the elongated ridge 42.The top edge 46 is insertable into a bottom section 50 of the fence rail24 wherein the elongated ridge 42 extends outward laterally relative tothe end 24 of the fence rail 24. A ridge slot 52 extends into themounting plate 12. The ridge slot 52 extends into a bottom edge 54 ofthe mounting plate 12. The ridge slot 52 is centrally positioned betweenthe support panels 30 wherein an upper portion 54 of the elongated ridge42 is seated in the ridge slot 52 when the end 26 of the fence rail 24is inserted between the support panels 30. The fence panel 40 is one ofa plurality of fence panels 40 having respective elongated ridges 42 onof the lateral sides 44 of the fence panel 40. To allow forinterconnection of the fence panels 40 the elongated ridges 42 on eachfence panel 40 include a male variety 42A and a female variety 42B.However, for the purpose of engagement to oppositely positioned endsupports 11, the specific variety of the elongated ridge 42 is notcritical as both the male variety 42A and female variety 42B areconsidered to similarly position within the ridge slot 52. Thus, theelongated ridge 42 may abut or vary nearly abut the adjacentlypositioned fence post 20.

Each of the support panels 30 has a distal edge 56 relative to themounting plate 12. The distal edge 56 of each support panel 30 has avertical top section 58 and a curved bottom section 60. The curvedbottom section 60 curves down and toward a middle of the mounting plate12 such that bottom edges 62 of the pair of support plates 30 aredirected towards each other. The shape of the curved bottom section 60generally conforms to or complements a shape of the fence rail 24. Thevertical top section 58 of each of the distal edges 56 is convexrelative to the mounting plate 12.

Each of a plurality of braces 66 is distributed along respective baseedges 68 of the support panels 30 on an outer side 70 of the supportpanels 30. The braces 66 are arranged to define gaps 72 betweenadjacently positioned braces 66. Each of the gaps 66 is laterallyaligned with a respective one of the mounting apertures 18.Additionally, each of the gaps 66 aligns with an associated one of theconnection slots 32 facilitating connections using the fasteners 22 andconnectors 34.

In use, the end supports 11 are used to both connect to the fence rail24 and to receive and position the elongated ridge 42 adjacent to thefence post 20. The structures as described above are provided to allowfor 180 degree rotation and inversion to use the same end supportstructure for top left, bottom left, top right and bottom rightconnections as shown in FIG. 1.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodimentenabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials,shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, aredeemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and allequivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings anddescribed in the specification are intended to be encompassed by anembodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of thedisclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used inits non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word areincluded, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. Areference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not excludethe possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless thecontext clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.

I claim:
 1. A fence rail end support system comprising: a mounting platehaving a back face and a front face, said back face being planar; aplurality of mounting apertures extending through said mounting platewherein said mounting plate is configured for being attached to thefence post by fasteners extending through said mounting apertures; afence rail having an end; a pair of support panels extendingperpendicularly from said front face of said mounting plate wherein saidend of said fence rail is positionable between said pair of supportpanels; and a plurality of connection slots extending through said pairof support panels wherein each of said connection slots is configuredfor receiving a connector to secure an associated one of said pair ofsupport panels to said fence rail when said end of said fence rail ispositioned between said pair of support panels.
 2. The system of claim1, further comprising said plurality of connection slots being arrangedinto horizontally aligned pairs, each connection slot of each of saidaligned pairs being positioned extending through an associated one ofsaid support panels.
 3. The system of claim 2, further comprising saidfence rail having elongated grooves extending inwardly from said end ofsaid fence rail, each of said grooves aligning with a respective one ofsaid connection slots when said end of said fence rail is insertedbetween said support panels.
 4. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a fence panel, said fence panel having an elongated ridgeextending along a lateral side of said fence panel, said fence panelhaving a top edge extending perpendicularly from a top end of saidelongated ridge, said top edge being insertable into a bottom section ofsaid fence rail wherein said elongated ridge extends laterally relativeto said end of said fence rail; and a ridge slot extending into saidmounting plate, said ridge slot extending into a bottom edge of saidmounting plate, said ridge slot being centrally positioned between saidsupport panels wherein an upper portion of said elongated ridge isseated in said ridge slot when said end of said fence rail is insertedbetween said support panels.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising each of said support panels having a distal edge relative tosaid mounting plate, said distal edge of each said support panel havinga vertical top section and a curved bottom section, said curved bottomsection curving down and toward a middle of said mounting plate suchthat bottom edges of said pair of support plates are directed towardseach other.
 6. The system of claim 5, further comprising said verticaltop sections of each of said distal edges being convex relative to saidmounting plate.
 7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a pluralityof braces, said braces being distributed along respective base edges ofsaid support panels on an outer side of said support panels.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, further comprising said braces being arranged todefine gaps between adjacently positioned braces, each of said gapsbeing laterally aligned with a respective one of said mountingapertures.
 9. A fence rail end support system comprising: a mountingplate having a back face and a front face, said back face being planar;a plurality of mounting apertures extending through said mounting platewherein said mounting plate is configured for being attached to thefence post by fasteners extending through said mounting apertures; afence rail having an end, said fence rail having elongated groovesextending inwardly from said end of said fence rail; a pair of supportpanels extending perpendicularly from said front face of said mountingplate wherein said end of said fence rail is positionable between saidpair of support panels; a plurality of connection slots extendingthrough said pair of support panels wherein each of said connectionslots is configured for receiving a connector to secure an associatedone of said pair of support panels to said fence rail when said end ofsaid fence rail is positioned between said pair of support panels, saidplurality of connection slots being arranged into horizontally alignedpairs, each connection slot of each of said aligned pairs beingpositioned extending through an associated one of said support panels,each of said grooves aligning with a respective one of said connectionslots when said end of said fence rail is inserted between said supportpanels; a fence panel, said fence panel having an elongated ridgeextending along a lateral side of said fence panel, said fence panelhaving a top edge extending perpendicularly from a top end of saidelongated ridge, said top edge being insertable into a bottom section ofsaid fence rail wherein said elongated ridge extends laterally relativeto said end of said fence rail; a ridge slot extending into saidmounting plate, said ridge slot extending into a bottom edge of saidmounting plate, said ridge slot being centrally positioned between saidsupport panels wherein an upper portion of said elongated ridge isseated in said ridge slot when said end of said fence rail is insertedbetween said support panels; each of said support panels having a distaledge relative to said mounting plate, said distal edge of each saidsupport panel having a vertical top section and a curved bottom section,said curved bottom section curving down and toward a middle of saidmounting plate such that bottom edges of said pair of support plates aredirected towards each other, said vertical top sections of each of saiddistal edges being convex relative to said mounting plate; and aplurality of braces, said braces being distributed along respective baseedges of said support panels on an outer side of said support panels,said braces being arranged to define gaps between adjacently positionedbraces, each of said gaps being laterally aligned with a respective oneof said mounting apertures.